On Saturday I went to Animation Supercon, South Florida’s annual pow-wow of gamers, anime fans, cosplayers and comic-book guys. I fall into one or two of those categories, but mostly I was there to see the cast reunion of Futurama. Fry, Bender, Kif and Hermes were all there to help promote the show’s glorious return to the airwaves.
The highlight came when David X. Cohen, who created the show with Matt Groening, gave us an exclusive sneak peek at the new season. It was a little crude - just animatics and voice work, no color or CG - but still, we got to see brand new Futurama scenes almost a year in advance!
The three-minute clip picked up right where the ending of Into the Wild Green Yonder left off. After being sucked into a black hole, the Planet Express Ship ends up back in Earth’s orbit. Fry and the Professor are left relatively unscathed, but the other crew members aren’t so lucky. So the first episode is all about putting Bender, Leela, Hermes, Amy, Kif and Dr. Zoidberg back together again. There were some big laughs, and I came away with the impression that the new episodes will retain the two-jokes-per-second pace of the first four seasons, rather than the slower pace of the straight-to-DVD movies.
Cohen divulged other secrets. Of the 26 episodes that will begin airing on Comedy Central next year, 10 of them have already been written. In one of the new episodes, Leela and Zapp Brannigan get stranded on an Eden-like planet. In another, Bender has an affair with Amy, which made me think of something Bender once said about humans dating robots: “Humans dating robots is sick. You people wonder why I’m still single? It’s ’cause all the fine robot sisters are dating humans!” There will also be a “What If Machine” episode, and the Hyper-Chicken (my favorite minor character on the show) will make a cameo appearance.
I’ll throw out a few more tidbits that should entice fans of the show: Finglonger, Space Pope, Roberto the Insane Robot.
So there you have it. A new season of Futurama is definitely on the way. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes!
 Phil LaMarr, voice of Hermes Conrad. One of Phil's first screen roles was as Marvin, the kid who gets shot in the face in Pulp Fiction. |
 John DiMaggio, voice of Bender Bending Rodriguez. John is a highly skilled beatboxer. |
 Billy West, voice of Philip J. Fry. Billy does a great Glenn Beck impression. |
 Series co-creator David X. Cohen. David studied physics and computer science in college. |
That's Maurice LaMarche on the far left, the voice of Kif Kroker.
Stephen Shupe is a Web writer, film critic and aspiring screenwriter living in Miami. He directed a handful of short films in college, winning a screenwriting award for the horror movie The Realm. Recently, he's gotten into the video-sharing business, and is currently at work on two film and play projects. 
